There are a lot of things IG2 did back in the day that many modern games wish they could emulate. The mixture of space and planetary management. The random events. The fantastic espionage. The battles in space and on planets. The fleshed out races, and so much more. This is a truly, TRULY amazing 4X game, and you need to have it in your library if you even have the BAREST interest in the genre.
I never played this when it came out, I was too enamoured with Starflight 2, SSI's Star Command, Sentinel Worlds Volume 1: Future Magic and others. I actually just played this for the first time recently and, while I found it competent, I also found it super dull. The games mentioned above were also fairly open spacey RPG affairs, but in those games, I always felt like I had a purpose. A reason for being in that universe. Not so here, as I felt this game just...didn't have whatever it was that made me feel like I wanted to spend time there. As a Space Game Junkie, I can't really recommend this unless you have to own all the space games, like I do. ;)
While many will say Battlezone is the better game, I fervently disagree. Uprising is an exceptionally deep tactical action game with a dynamic campaign, very fluid battlefields, great AI and unparalleled gameplay. With Uprising, your troops appeared where you wanted when you wanted, so you could order a bombing run and launch tanks within seconds of each other to help overwhelm an enemy base. It's not all about tactics, either. Proper use of resources is key to winning. Another key is proper use of units, as some units have skills only they possess, like infantry being able to destroy buildings, for example. The campaign is dynamic and non-linear, so it never truly plays out the same way, offering enormous replay value. I've never played multiplayer, but now I can't wait to try. In closing, if you like tactical games with some strategy, or action games with some serious gameplay variety, you owe it to yourself to get this game.
This game is a pile of garbage. If you want a competent starship simulator, go back a few years to Rules of Engagement 1 and 2, or to this game's sequel, Klingon Academy. Here, the story is bananas, the missions are plodding and dull, and, worst of all, the starships fly like fighters in a Wing Commander game. Just a waste of time and potential.
A few years after Wing Commander was released, Star Wars fans got their own space sim magnum opus in the forum of X-Wing. An amazing game for its time, and still a legendary sim in the genre, I played the hell out of this and its two expansion packs (Imperial Pursuit and B-Wing) to death. Why only four stars then? Because TIE Fighter is the far better game. Don't get me wrong, if you're into these games at all, you'll own and play both, but this game laid the groundwork for all the Star Wars space sims to come after it. There were some missions that were way too puzzly and difficult in the initial release (gorram medical frigate), but these were actually made easier in the special edition (and humorously was used as a marketing bullet point). If you have any interest in Star Wars or space combat, you owe it to yourself to add this to your collection. Just, again, keep in mind that TIE Fighter is the better game, but it wouldn't have been had X-Wing not blazed a trail for it beforehand.
TIE Fighter had a lot of people confused back in 1994. Everyone wanted to be Luke Skywalker flying X-Wings for the Alliance against the evil Empire...who would want to actually fly FOR the bad buys. The folks at Totally Games answered that question by giving us an amazing and compelling story, along with some of the most memorable missions and set pieces you'll find in ANY space combat sim. This game, as X-Wing before it, can be quite puzzly in nature, but once you accept that, you will be in for the ride of your life. As a purist, I recommend the 1994 version due to the amazing interactive music (iMuse) system, which has dynamic, reactive music that changes as you play. The later editions used more standard redbook audio. That said, if you have ANY interest in space combat AT ALL, you owe it to yourself to add this game to your collection. After playing space games for over thirty years, this one still is in my top 5 games of all time. Once you dive into it, you'll easily see why.
This truly is one of the finest Diablo-style ARPGs ever made. Why? Because the world doesn't sit still and wait for you. While you're on level 3? Some monsters escaped and attacked your town. Didn't get to level ten to stop that uprising in time? It's now a full-fledged war down there, which will bleed up. This game can keep one going for days (it certainly has for me). IF you want exceptional gameplay, with fantastic variety. Get. This. Game.
I played a beta copy of this ages and and really had a good time with it. It's like Elite or Freelancer, but in a top-down turn-based format. There's a ton to do, from missions to smuggling to piracy, and a big universe to do it all in. Overall, if you enjoy open-ended space trading and combat games, this will likely scratch that particular itch for you just fine,
